At Glatfelter, we understand that protecting the environment is important to our customers, shareholders, employees and the communities in which we live. While we acknowledge that it is impossible to totally eliminate all environmental impacts from our forestry and manufacturing operations, we are nevertheless committed to minimizing our environmental impact through the use of best management practices, environmental management systems and state-of-the-art pollution prevention and waste treatment technologies. Our commitment to environmental protection is the foundation of our Environmental Policy.

Our environmental initiatives achieved a milestone in 1999 when our Spring Grove, Pennsylvania Facility became the first pulp and paper mill in the United States to receive third-party certification of its environmental management system.  Our Neenah, Wisconsin and Gernsbach, Germany pulp and paper mills are also ISO 14001 certified.  Plans call for all Glatfelter manufacturing facilities to be ISO 14001 certified in 2005.

There are countless reasons to be responsible environmental stewards. At Glatfelter, we recognize this and we will continue to go Beyond Paper.

Environmental Policy

Glatfelter Pulp Wood Company

Sustainable Forestry Initiative

Matching Seedling Program

Environmental Policy

Glatfelter's Environmental Policy reflects its commitment to comply with environmental laws and regulations, practice pollution prevention and continually improve the environment. Instituted in 1997 as part of the ISO 14001 certification process, this policy is the foundation for the Company's Environmental Management Systems (EMS).

Glatfelters vision is to be the global supplier of choice in specialty papers and engineered products. A core value of the Company is environmental responsibility. Accordingly, the Company is committed to:

• Empowering employees to take personal responsibility for awareness and control of environmental issues on the job.



• Complying with environmental laws and regulations and voluntary principles to which it subscribes.



• Practicing prevention of pollution by using natural resources efficiently, reducing waste, encouraging recycling and reuse, and reducing adverse environmental impacts that may be caused by its operations.



• Maintaining and continually improving an environmental management system with the goal of improving environmental performance.



• Practicing sustainable forestry on Company-owned lands as well as encouraging landowners we work with to manage their lands in a sustainable way.

If you are interested in learning more about Glatfelter's EMS, please contact Skip Missimer, Corporate Director - Environmental Affairs at (717) 225-2755, smissimer@glatfelter.com or Kelly Snyder, Management Systems Manager, (717) 225-4711, ksnyder@glatfelter.com.

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Glatfelter Pulp Wood Company

Mission.

Glatfelter Pulp Wood Company, incorporated in 1918 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glatfelter. Its mission is to ensure a continued supply of high quality pine and hardwood fiber for use in manufacturing operations of the Spring Grove Facility. Fulfilling this mission requires a dual effort.

providing the wood for papermaking
managing the forest from which the wood is harvested

A staff of seventeen foresters leads this effort. Most of the foresters have responsibilities in both wood procurement and forest management.

Fiber Procurement.

The Spring Grove Facility requires approximately 1,000,000 tons of wood fiber annually. This is about 180 truck loads per day, five days a week. One-half of the fiber is softwood (pine) and one-half is hardwood. More than one-third of this requirement is met by reclaiming material from other wood processors. Sawmill chips, a by-product of the lumber industry, are purchased from 120 sawmills throughout the procurement area. Roundwood used for papermaking is delivered to Spring Grove by more than 400 individual suppliers in lengths of eight feet to twenty-two feet and in diameter from four inches to twenty-four inches.

Company-owned Woodlands.

The Company owns 86,000 acres of managed forests in three states - Virginia (46%), Pennsylvania (33%), and Delaware (21%). Seventy-one percent of the land is managed to grow pine, and 29% is managed to grow hardwood. All of the land is managed for the multiple-use benefits of soil and water protection, wildlife habitat enhancement, recreational activity and the aesthetics of undeveloped open space.

Private Landowners.

Company-owned land provides 26% of the total fiber requirement. Publicly owned or government lands provide 3%. The overwhelming majority of our wood supply, therefore, is harvested from private woodlands. Glatfelter foresters work closely with local landowners to support sustainable forestry initiatives.

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Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

Trees are essential to life. As they grow, trees serve as oxygen factories, converting carbon dioxide into a precious resource. Trees provide shade from the sun and they recycle water to the atmosphere by absorbing it from the soil and releasing it into the air. Our forests also are important to wildlife as a source of food and shelter. People depend on trees for construction lumber, furniture, cosmetics, recreational equipment, fuel, medical products, and paper.

What's so great about trees is that they are a renewable source. But the word "renewable" doesn't mean that we should use our forests carelessly. After all, if we don't manage and protect our woodlands today, they may not be useful to meet the needs of tomorrow.

For many years, Glatfelter Pulp Wood Company, a subsidiary of Glatfelter, has been in the business of harvesting trees to make paper and managing woodlands for the future. In 1917, we were one of the first paper companies to hire a professional forester. Over the years, our foresters have created forest management plans that generate wood fiber for papermaking, maintain wildlife habitat, produce greater biological diversity, and provide public recreational opportunities.

In 1995, the Glatfelter Pulp Wood Company ascribed to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, or SFI, which was developed by the American Forest and Paper Association in 1994. This initiative establishes policies and guidelines designed to ensure the future of today's abundant forests. Glatfelter is currently SFI third party certified. This certification recognizes our commitment to meet all the goals of SFI. While the SFI is new to the industry, the Pulp Wood Company has practiced many of the program's techniques for decades.

In recent years, Glatfelter Pulp Wood Company has replanted trees on land that was not always forested. Acres of unused agricultural land now serve as tree farms. The new trees prevent soil erosion and make productive use of land that would take many years to develop naturally into a forest.

Timber volume in the United States is greater today than it was 80 years ago, and continues to increase every year. That's due to the positive stewardship efforts of forestry companies and private individuals.

We will continue to promote the use of sound forestry techniques, taking into account all of the special characteristics of a forested area. This includes joint efforts with organizations like The Nature Conservancy to protect rare plant life and with state governmental agencies to create diverse wildlife habitats.

We are proud of our success in providing wood fiber for papermaking while caring for one of our most valuable natural resources - our forests. All of us should appreciate the beauty and importance of woodlands and do our part to help protect them for future generations to use and enjoy.

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Matching Seedling Program.

In addition to planting pine seedling on Company lands, Glatfelter provides seedlings to private landowners in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware. As a means of encouraging tree planting, the Company will share the cost of the seedlings with the landowner. Since 1946, tree planting on Company-owned land and on private lands through the matching seedling program, has resulted in the establishment of nearly 200,000 acres of forest.

Technical Assistance.

To any landowner or logger who requests it, we provide technical advice and assistance to assure that the lands being harvested to supply our mills with paper are sustainable for the future. The importance of these private lands to our future wood supply needs cannot be overstated. Good stewardship now is absolutely necessary if forests are to provide benefits and products in the future.

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Other Environmental Information

Drinking Water Quality Report

Lake Marburg Status

More environmental information coming soon...